


Conveyance

by Falki



Category: Brave (2012), Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, How to Train Your Dragon (2010), ROTBTD - Fandom, Rise of The Brave Tangled Dragons - Fandom, Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010), The Big Four - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-01-11 23:08:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1179039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Falki/pseuds/Falki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six months after the events of Rise of the Guardians, Jack Frost has spent his days with fun, adventure, and some experimenting with the limits of his powers. When Jack decides to bring a winter spell to the town of Burgess, he is distracted by something he finds there, and as fate would have it, it leads him down a path filled with dragons, Scots, and girls with magical glowing hair. However, Jack soon finds that he has been followed by an enemy ready for revenge, and he and his new allies must find out how to stop the rising darkness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Night of Winterspell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically an intro chapter.

There was a crisp taste to the atmosphere due to the oncoming cold front that began to settle in the nearby valleys of the small town of Burgess. When the soft wind would blow, brown and yellow leaves would break off from their branches and flutter to the ground in great heaps. Something else danced on the air as well, the scent of earth and moisture that was so unique to this time of year. The scent of summer’s end and fall’s beginnings.

The starry sky was nearly the color of charcoal. The moon was of little consolation as it had been retreating into smaller and smaller slivers as it approached the new moon. It was the hour of night that no person in town—except maybe a small handful teenagers—was awake. They had all been put to bed by the guardian of dreaming sand hours ago.

Clouds that promised frost rolled in over the town to welcome the coming of Halloween. The beloved holiday was still a few days away, but that never stopped festivities from bringing fun and happiness long before the end of the month. Shops and businesses and homes had decorations which had been set up for a few weeks now. Pumpkins had been carved, signs with witches and ghosts put up, cobwebs draped walls and most other things. On the southeast side of town was a well-known farm, which every year, transformed into a haunted house, complete with hayrides and corn mazes. Citizens who walked into local bakeries smelled pumpkin spice pastries without fail. It was everything that made this time of year great and wonderful and oh so very _spooky,_ in all the best of ways.

Jack had decided that he wanted to bring a little extra fun to the town. A little early morning snow that would melt away by noon would make a nice surprise. Maybe school could be delayed, that was definitely something to smile about.

He flew through the night with a grin on his face, zipping through the trees on the outside edge of town. Testing and pushing his powers to new heights while he passed time. Waiting for the right moment to release the snow.

He wanted to be stronger, and have more control over his element. He had come far in the little time that had passed. Obviously he had always been able to call on snow and frost quickly, it was in his nature, but the events that passed that previous Easter had shown him that his powers were greater and deeper than he knew. Through his efforts he had recently gained control over unleashing energy bolts of ice. And though it was difficult in the beginning, it felt awfully natural to him. Which lead him to realize the only way to get better, the only way to discover that which was still untapped, was just have fun with it. Jack experimented with his powers constantly; trying to invent new material.

He flew through a target course he had created for himself in the forest near his lake, shooting snow and ice at targets. When he reached the end of the course, he summoned a snowman to practice combat with. He was most proud of this. His discovery that if he focused hard enough, he could manipulate the snow like puppet, and even will it to attack him so he could practice his fighting skills.

Even as Jack put everything he had into target practice, he remembered that he needed to reserve at least a portion of his energy. He was always exhausted by the end of the combat practice, summoning the snowman and keeping it in a stable form took a lot out of him.

At first he could only build the snow into the image of a man. He hadn't figured out how to make it to move on its own. It was more difficult than simply manifesting images on window panes, and it was definitely a couple steps beyond bewitching the frost to leap around a kid’s bedroom for but a brief moment. It required projecting much more energy and focus. And on more than one occasion, he had collapsed into a drift of fresh powder and gone to sleep for a couple hours because of it.

Once he had figured out how to do that, he still struggled to keep the snowman from collapsing into a pile of snow for some time. He was only just getting the hang of it. He had developed it to the point where Jack couldn't 100% predict what the snowman was going to do next. Which was just the way he wanted it. Real battles are unpredictable, so to stay on his toes, he needed a practice dummy that could act unpredictable.

As he flew through his target course and fought his snowman, something hung in the back of his mind, and that something was the cause of all this training. Pitch. Though there had been not one sign of Pitch Black since his own Nightmares had dragged him back under the Earth’s crust. Easter left Jack feeling like he needed to stay strong to protect the children of earth from threats like the Boogie Man. He had a feeling that even if Pitch failed to ever get that powerful again, that wouldn’t stop him from trying to execute revenge. It also didn’t guarantee the absences of any other bad guys looking to rise up and throw the world out of whack.

As of this moment, the snowman was only capable of hand-to-hand combat, but Jack hoped to build his skill up to the point where the snowman could also throw snow and ice attacks as well. Each time he sparred with the snowman, it got a little bit stronger and better at fighting.

The snowman made a few swings at punching Jack, who in turn defended himself. He made a spinning back-kick to the snowman's abdomen. His foot passed straight through, but the snow synced itself back together again, with a harder, more ice-like meld.

  _Good._ Jack thought while being conscious of his quicker breaths, _I can’t beat him the same way I did last time._

The snowman looked at Jack. It haphazardly imitated its master and made for a regular kick to Jack’s chest, but Jack was too quick for it and relocated himself before the attack could make contact with the sprite. He pushed the snowman back with a small flurry of snow. Once the snowman was able to get its bearings, it charged Jack again, making an uppercut to Jack’s stomach. Jack bit his lip and managed to dodge and deflect it with his palm. The snowman suddenly fell to Jack’s side, just another drift of snow dust.

Jack’s breath came in gasps and his heart fluttered in his ribcage. He was beaming. That was one of the longest sessions he had had yet. He found himself a tree and sat against it for a bit, the spell making him a bit weary. He sat there for a while, looking at the stars that hadn’t yet been blocked out by clouds. The hue of sky was beginning to lighten up from a cool black to a dark cobalt. He smiled to himself before standing up again.

“Wind!” he called and was instantly whisked off the ground, snow swirling at his ankles.

The little flakes of snow began to fall from the clouds. Jack flew passed trees and houses, weightless on the wind. He whipped around everything from chimneys to cars to light poles. He passed one house in particular that he had come to know well. And he decided that after he had flown through the town, after he brought the snow at least as far as the park in the center of downtown, he would loop back around to that house and see what was new. As he passed, he didn’t hear the excited chirp of a little one who was _supposed_ to be sleeping. “Jack-Jack!”

The truth was, this snow fall was also marking his return to the one place he considered home. He hadn’t actually been in Burgess for a while now; not since early May. He had gone to cold, isolated places for a time. Then he went to some other places south of the equator. He mostly just felt like wandering through the lands. Though sometimes he tested his abilities, creating icy landscapes to fight his snowmen in. It was fun to try things out in distant places.

He had gone to New Zealand, bringing winter with him to the south islands, as it was a great place to go sledding. He also went to Argentina and Chile, as he hadn’t been either of those places in a while. He even went to India, though, he left the snow and ice behind despite the environment being kind of warm for his tastes. He kind of liked India as it naturally was, so he explored the temples, jungles, and villages with slight, _slight_ amounts of mischief. And he may or may not have been involved with the scaring off of a television crew from some reality TV show.

But as of yet, one of his favorite new memories was of playing in the snow in northern Finland, with a full moon and the northern lights overhead. At one point he had made icy tunnels, like a labyrinth, to battle in. It was an accident actually. He had been riding the wind through some extra tall snow drifts. Each time he forced the snow to part, it hardened. This planted the idea in his mind to make an overly complicated citadel perfect for sledding, sliding, and snowballing. However, a whole herd of rather confused caribou had wandered into his labyrinth, and he had to spend an entire day rounding them up and sending them safely on their way. By that time, he felt ready to move onto the next adventure.

The week before his return to Burgess was spent in Canada, watching kids play hockey, being sure to make the ice on any lakes and rivers he passed extra sturdy. He liked ice hockey. The cold, the speed of the game, the crunching sounds of skates digging into the ice, the clacking of the sticks as the — “brumbies” as Bunnymund put it — chased after the puck, and the good-natured but mischievous spirit of the players. Hockey was one of those sports that looked all tough and serious, but really boys and girls spend just as much time goofing around as seriously playing the game. It drew Jack in like Toothiana to a healthy tooth.

With the snow on his tail, Jack flew down a dark street, pulling himself out of his thoughts. He was almost to the park. He zoomed under a traffic light which lit up the street with a flaming orange glow. The light swung on creaking cables from being hit by the wind current that followed Jack. He continued down the dimly luminous street with tall brick buildings rising on both sides. He raced on the wind with intensity worthy of an actual competition. Then out of nowhere something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Something blue, like a light or a flame, in the middle of a dark alleyway he had just barely passed.

His head made an involuntary double take. He came to a stop, placing his bare feet on the cold, rocky asphalt. He walked back over to where he had seen the figure of blue. Jack edged around the brick corner, head tilted a bit to the side, and saw the little blue thing, floating in the air. He was right, it was sort of like a flame, and sort of not.

Strangely it appeared to be beckoning him to come closer. It had little flames that made arms that motioned him to come that way, which he slowly did. It made wheezy little murmurs, sort of like singsong-y breaths. Like it was trying to tell him something. At some degree it reminded him of the time when Pitch used his memories to lure him and Baby Tooth into a trap. He hoped that this wasn’t one of those times.

But he stood but inches from the thing. So, naturally he reached out a hand to touch it, when the little blue flame vanished as if it had been blown out. He jumped from surprise and looked around the alleyway, searching for the little flame. Then he heard the soft huff of the flame. He looked back to where it was before and saw it deeper in the dark alleyway. Then another one appeared, and another. Until he realized they were making a trail that practically spoke to him saying “This way!” or “Come closer!”

Jack was wary at first, but ultimately his adventurous side won over his sensible side. He followed the blue flames.  Slowly at first, then he picked up the pace a bit, as so did they. Then it seemed the little flames said “Hurry!” and before he realized it himself, he was flying. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!! This story has been floundering around in my head for so long, but writing the beginning of this really kick my butt. I've been working on it since October, but had to work and rework it to make sure it aligned with the later chapters (which I'm editing and should be up soon assuming school doesn't get in the way.) So yeah, I'm very exited to finally have this up.


	2. The Storm

The blue flames led Jack through winding streets and alleyways. It felt like an oddly sinuous, serpentine path that he was made to follow. A couple times the turns were so sharp that he had to jump off brick walls to keep from crashing. Then all at once he was at the edge of town, beyond that, deep in a thicket of trees, northeast of where he had started that night, and he traveled farther and farther from the town.

The moment he reached the forest, he stayed about leveled to the mysterious little lights. He flew close enough to the ground that he had but to merely out stretch his arm and his hand would graze the earth. The trees were the ones to decide this. A few feet higher and Jack would either collide with their dense tangle of branches or lose the trail entirely. And he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t risk them disappearing forever. He knew this. Something in his gut told Jack that he needed to follow those little flames.

After some time the ground dropped away and Jack was now flying fast over a cold ocean of near black intensity under the saturated blue atmosphere. He didn't even notice the minor glow on the horizon. The spray of the ocean made the air cold and salty. The radiance of the coming morning shown with brilliance as it blotted over the earth’s edge. Any second now and the sun would be rising to his right.

His eyes squinted.

_What are these things? Where are they going? Why are they leading me there?_

Suddenly Jack collided with a blinding wall of cyan light. Familiar dark laughter rang in his mind. His eyes widened. Momentary disorientation struck him, nearly sending him crashing into rocks and trees. He let out a gasp and spun out away from a tree, but in doing so collided with the hard, unforgiving earth beneath him.

“Whoa!” he yelled, tumbling and kicking up dirt with the impact.

He was aware of his feet flying over him twice at the very least. He came to a stop with his face to the ground, letting out a slow groan of pain. Jack pushed against the earth and sat up. He looked around him. The land was different from what it was before. First of all, there _was_ land. Boy, there was definitely land.

He was in a forest again, but not his forest. This forest wasn’t nearly as dense, though there was enough to create a canopy above Jack. The trees were lankier and less embellished by branches and needles. The forest had very little underbrush, too. There were a few bushes and ferns here and there, but it was mostly just rich brown dirt and emerald colored grass. Jack noted the differences of the rocks and boulders to the ones of his home. He saw the stones for their juxtaposition and moss. Even the gnarled trees which had fallen to the ground, were covered over in lushness as they slowly rotted.

Jack pulled himself to his feet and unconsciously brushed the dirt from his hoodie. There was no sign of the little blue flames. They had disappeared completely. He had no idea where he was or how he got there, but he figured he ought to find out.

Early morning fog, not yet ready to dissipate, filled the forest. There was only a short distance of visibility before everything faded to grey. He looked at his surroundings one more time. This time looking specifically at the land, which suggested to him, that he stood on a flat part of a hillside.

 _Not just a flat part,_ _a trail!_

It was rarely used, but it was there, which was surprisingly encouraging.

“Though, flying through this fog _probably_ wouldn’t be a very good idea.” He told himself, “I’m not sure my ribs can take another collision.”

He held his side as he sauntered ahead in a bit of a hobbling fashion. He listened for distinguishable sounds to tell him what to make of the place, sounds of rivers or animals. All he heard was the unmistakable songs of magpies in the trees. Before long, he saw the path open up, and found himself walking into a clearing.

“Jack. Oh, Jack.”

Jack stopped. His pulse jumped for a split-second. Instinctively his knuckles tightened around his staff. His brow knotted as his eyes studied every direction. He was unsure of where the voice had come from. Confusion swelled within him, confusion and that fidgety feeling that comes before a fight. He widened his stance and allowed his knees to fall a bit deeper. He tried to anticipate a surprise attack so he could block a hit. His gaze fell to any and every shadow in the misty woods.

“There’s no need for that Jack.” It was a voice that fiend kindness. “I have no plans of fighting with you; not today.”

“Oh really? So what _are_ you planning?”

There was the briefest of pauses and Jack imagined Pitch’s sneering face.

“Such a generic retort. Did you learn it from your guardian friends?”

“Oh, burn. Is there a point to all of this?”

Pitch laughed, “So unyielding you are. Fine. You want to play with fire, Jack? Well…only if you insist. You know, you’re not the only one who has picked up some new tricks.”

Black sand began to circle Jack at about 5 foot radius. Jack’s hair flew back as a warm wind battered his face. The sand surged upward, making a barrier between Jack and the forest. It expanded into a sandstorm, blowing high in the trees above Jacks head, making the forest like nightfall. He struggled to keep his eyes open against the hot sand and wind.

The sand itself felt like a big mass of darkness, until it began to evolve, gaining heat and personality. It shifted and made figures in the air. It shaped itself into flames mostly, but it seemed a few other creatures were whooshing down upon Jack. Some of the creatures were humanoid, others had appearances that resembled birds, horses, and wolves. The screams of the creatures reached Jack’s ears as some sort sound of rock grinding against rock with a trailing sound like a computerize glitch. The radiating heat left a sickly feeling in the winter sprite, though he’d never admit to it.

A sand creature rushed Jack. He deflected it easily with a strike from his staff. An icy glow briefly emitted through the staff. It lit up the small area around him before it flickered and faded. A chunk of the creature froze and shattered. The rest of sand fell apart in way that was much too easy. It couldn’t be a genuine attack...

Another sand creature came at him, Jack swiped at it, same result. Two more came at him, and a swift and sure slash with the staff took care of them both. Every strike Jack made came with frost that would light the darkness some.

Something was very suspicious about these creatures; their lethargic movements, the lack of strength he needed to defeat the creatures, the easy disbursement of the sand in general. He didn’t like it. He no longer held the fighting stance he had originally assumed. Now his posture was casual, laid back even. He knew there was more to this than what he saw. So he decided to defeat the rest quick.

 

* * *

 

When no more creatures were left, he tried to look beyond the wall of flames to see if there was something else happening in the distance. There was nothing, nothing but the growing flames, scorching the ground and climbing the bases of the nearest trees. Jack was stunned. It was actual black fire. He didn’t know Pitch could do that. Was that the point to all this? Was Pitch trying to scare Jack?

“Come out and face me, Pitch!” he yelled into the trees. It was sweltering in the middle of all this fire. His head felt as if it were swimming a little bit.

 A black figure blurred passed his vision in the distance. It turned and ran towards Jack, whatever it was. He heard a roar, the likes of which he had never even remotely heard before. There was a quick sound like a discharge of energy. Then a burning, purple light broke through the sand. Jack was barely able to get out of the way. He felt the heat against his shoulder and face from nearly being struck by the flare. He watched it hit a tree, which exploded from the blast. What was left caught fire. Jack swallowed and looked back to where the blast had come from.

What quickly followed was the black mass closing into Jack, hunched over like a predator ready to pounce on him and bring a powerful, clawed arm down. Jack heard another roar. He saw the glint of bared teeth. This creature was actually dangerous! Jack brought up his staff feeling safer by clutching it between him and his foe. Unbeknownst to him, Jack’s pose was unfortunately mistaken as a threat.

And maybe it was. Jack wasn’t afraid to use piercing blades of ice if he absolutely had to. He tried to make himself more intimidating. He bared his teeth like the thing in front of him, his brow knotted, the muscles in his arms and torso twitched, his bare feet spread in the dirt of the ground. He was ready to strike. And he almost did too, if it wasn’t for somebody jumping in between Jack and the mass. They forced their heels into the dirt and leaned their weight into the thing, like they were trying to stop a train wreck literally in its tracks. All of this was accompanied by a shout.

“No. Stop, stop! Wait! Toothless stop!”

For the first time, Jack noticed the sand was disbursing and the forest was almost as before. As the black sand receded, so too, did the black flames, though they already did their damage. Early morning sun shined through the thinning fog.

Jack came face to face with a gleaming metal shield. A boy poked his head over to look at Jack. He was a lengthy kid, around the age of sixteen, and he looked Jack in the eye. He made sure to keep the shield between Jack and himself until he could determine if Jack was dangerous or not.

Jack had to look the kid over again to make sure he was for real. His eye fell to were the kid had obviously lost his left foot. He tried to seem as if he hadn’t even looked, but he couldn’t help but notice the archaic looking prosthetic leg. Then Jack saw the black mass behind the boy, and he realized exactly what it actually was, and his jaw dropped.

“Wha-what is that?” he asked as a crooked smile crept onto his face.

The boy relaxed and put a free hand on the dragon. “This, is Toothless.”

Toothless stood hunched growling and baring his teeth. He sensed Hiccup’s ease and sat back with a new look of curiosity, cooing like an Orca. For some inexplicable reason, the dragon reminded Jack more of a cat than a fire breathing reptile.

“He…wasn’t trying to attack you, he was just startled by...well, whatever it was you were fighting.”

 Jack jerked his head from the dragon to the boy. “Wait a minute. _You can see me?_ ”

“Uh, yeaaah. Is there…some reason why I wouldn’t be able to see you?”

“Heh, funny you should ask. You see—” Jack looked at the boy’s rugged style of dress, then remembered that he had just come face to face with a real-live dragon. In all his years, Jack had never found any signs of living, breathing dragons. Sometimes he’d look, when he was bored, and he had been almost certain there were none. Wherever this was, it was not your average forest, and it certainly wasn’t anywhere he was familiar with. He was brought back to the task of finding out why the little flames like fog lead him here.

“Actually, hold on. Let’s not go into that just yet. Who are you? And where are we?” Jack asked. He showed that he meant no harm and held his staff to the side. Before he got his answer, another large blue dragon flew over them, this time with a girl riding it.

“Hiccup.” She called.

She landed close by and dismounted her dragon. The girl dressed similarly to the boy, only with more metal, more spikes, and more skulls. Her blonde hair was braided but had long bangs which fell over the left side of her face.

“Are you alright? I watched you get thrown off toothless.” She said.

“I’m fine, Astrid.”

She looked at Jack and then back at the boy. “Who’s this?”

“Jack Frost.” Jack said to them with a nod.

Jack casually leaned against his staff, “So, now that we’re all acquainted—Astrid, Hiccup, can you _please_ tell me where I am? Oh!” 

He looked around himself and then moved in closer, as if he didn’t want somebody else to overhear their conversation.

“And have you seen any little blue flames floating around?” He whispered.

Astrid and Hiccup looked at each other.

“Um…well, no, we haven’t seen anything like that around…but I can tell you that you’re on the Island of Berk.” Hiccup said.

“Berk, huh?” Jack looked at the forest around them, he balanced his staff on his shoulder blades with his hands hung over the aged wood, pacing around the clearing a little as he went. “Never heard of it. And I’ve been just about everywhere.”

“And what about you? Where did you come from?” asked Astrid.

“Burgess, Pennsylvania.”

“Never heard of it.”

Jack raised his eyebrow. _Yeah, Burgess probably not, but Pennsylvania?_

“How exactly did you get here anyway?” Hiccup asked.

“Not too sure.” Jack thought for a moment, “Remember those little blue flames I was asking about? Well, I saw a trail of them in Burgess and I followed them. Next thing I know, I'm blinded by a flash of blue light,  and take a tumble into your forest here.”  Jack shrugged to the area around them, letting the staff fall off his shoulders to hold it to his side again.

“And what about that stuff from earlier? What was that?” Astrid asked with a bit of astonishment.

“It looked like…sand.” Hiccup said.

“Heh, that’s ‘cause it was sand. Magic infused Dream Sand to be exact.” Jack told them.

“Dream Sand?” Hiccup repeated with a bit of skepticism.

“Yeah. Exept it’s the kind that creates bad dreams instead of pleasant ones.” Jack replied.

“So you’ve seen this sand before?” Astrid reiterated.

“Yeah, and I wouldn’t mark that down as the last time either...not just for me, but you guys, too.”

“But where’d it come from?” she asked.

“It’s…more a matter of who.” Said Jack, “There’s this guy, called Pitch, the Nightmare King. You see, he’s kind of got a grudge against me. He tried to make the world all darkness and fear. Wanted to create a new Dark Age. My friends and I stopped him. And then he went back underground, literally.”

“And this Pitch guy, he can control the sand?” Astrid concluded.

“That’s right. And by the looks of it, seems like he’s planning something new.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. I gotta get back to Burgess and find out. It’s just…”

Jack looked in the direction of where he came from, but he could no longer see the area where he had landed. There really were no clues as to how he got there, the only explanation being one of magical origin. He didn’t know what direction would lead him home, _if_ it would lead him home.

And sure, he could try flying around until he found his way, but what if Berk wasn’t part of his world? What if special conditions were required to get to and from Berk? What if it existed in its own little pocket of reality? It’s not unheard of. And it _would_ explain a few things.

Had he been listening to the conversation Hiccup and Astrid were having, he would have known that they were very much questioning his sanity, let alone his reliability. If Jack was telling the truth, then they could have one Hel of a challenge before them. If he wasn’t, then they would be pulled into a wild goose chase with some kid they didn’t even know.

They particularly debated on whether it was wise to help him at all, seeing as the last seemingly harmless and stranded teenager they took in, did kind of try to give away a book of dragons to one of their biggest enemies.

But then again, they clearly saw him fighting the creatures made of sand. And it seemed that he really wasn’t from any other known Viking tribes. And being that Hiccup and Astrid _were_ Vikings, the idea of unexplainable blue flames magically dropping a person into foreign territory, wasn’t all that hard to swallow.

Jack was still considering himself what to do next, when the voice of the boy named Hiccup brought him from his thoughts.

“Jack? Jack!”

“Huh?”

“We were just thinking that maybe there’s something back at the village that can direct you to Burgess.”

“You think so?”

“Possibly.” Said Astrid encouragingly.

“There are lots of traders and Viking warriors who’ve been to faraway lands.” Hiccup said, “Maybe somebody has herd of it. There’s gotta be something. And besides, we should tell my dad about the storm and this Pitch guy anyways. You said it yourself, this might not be the end of it. We’ll need you to tell us everything we need to know so we can ready our defenses.”

“Okay!” said Jack with a tone of excitement tinged with urgency, “Well then, let’s go.”

“Alright,” said Hiccup, he mounted Toothless and Astrid did the same with her dragon. “It’ll be faster if we fly, you can ride with one of us.”

“No need.” responded Jack with a wide smile, “Already got that covered.”

A sudden gust of wind came and picked Jack up like he was boundless by gravity. He soared high above the trees. There he waited for the dragons to catch up. He watched the riders below and smiled at their shocked expressions. He looked to what could no doubt be the village Hiccup had spoken of. It was nuzzled beside massive rising cliffs and mountains.

“This way.” Hiccup called as the dragons and their riders streaked past. They made an arching movement before shooting towards the village.

Jack followed, unable to let go of the excitement he felt. Dragons! Real dragons! Right here in front of him. They were fast and strong as they charged through the sky. Jack raced with them. Apparently they had a competitive streak. They would flick their wings in front of him to toy with him as they flew towards the village.

The wind whispered in their ears. If Jack weren’t a winter spirit, then the air would probably send a chill straight to his bones; it was cold and smelled of dew. He finally squeezed just a smidge in front of the dragons, he was looking forward to arriving at the village and, hopeful soon, setting off again to Burgess. He could always come back to Berk after whatever little scuffle with Pitch that was sure happen, had happened.

“So Jack,” Astrid began, “You know, most people can’t fly. If you don’t mind me asking, who _are_ you?”

Jack turned so as to be face-to-face the riders, “Woah, waoh. One, I don't fly; I ride on the wind, there's a difference. Two, if I’m gonna fight against a magical jerkwad I gotta have something up my sleeve, too, don’t I?”

“Good point.”

 

* * *

 

The teens agreed to land just outside of a house that sat above most of the rest of the homes. They were near to a very large hall that must have been dedicated to governmental things. Jack was in luck. There didn’t seem to be much activity this early in the morning, therefore, there weren’t any prying eyes to see the strange boy flying alongside a couple of dragons.

Most of the buildings were built of wood, and styled in a very old looking fashion of architecture. Doorways had knot-work carved around them. And many of the homes had wooden dragons mounted on the face of the arched roofs, almost reminiscent of what little Jack actually knew about Viking ships. Some of the homes even had perches and stables specially designed for the dragons.

He was trying to ignore the slow dawning sensation that he had somehow gone back in time. That he had gone _way_ back in time. It’s one thing if Jack was simply lost. It was entirely another if he was stuck in a place that required magic to get out. He didn’t even want to think about what it would mean if he was also trapped in the past. Looking at the village, it gave him a distraction from that sensation, for a little bit at least. He could allow himself to marvel at it before getting down to the serious business of getting home.

“So,” started Jack, “where are we going exactly?”

“We should talk to my dad.” Hiccup said. “He’s one of the best navigators this side of the barbaric archipelago. The least he might be able to do is point us in the right direction.”

Both of the kids dismounted their dragons. Just then a large man with a hook for a hand walked out of the large building. He caught site of the teens looking a reassured.

“Oh! Hello, Hiccup. The Chief was just looking for you.” The man said striding towards them.

“He was?” Hiccup responded.

“Yeah. Don’t suppose you saw that wild dust storm just a moment ago? Yer father didn’t like the look of it. Said it reeked of bad omens.”

“Yeah, we were just going to talk to him about that.”

“You better! ’Gave half the village the willies. He went up to Gothi to get her verdict on it. If you hurry, you can probably meet them up at the Great Hall.”

“Ok, thanks Gobber. C’mon guys.” And with that they set off towards the great stone stepping way leading to the Great Hall.

           

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had such I hard time writing this chapter, I'm glad to finally get it out of the way. Which was kind of infuriating because I was really happy with with the first half of it but just couldn't get the last bits to flow right. Hopefully it being a little longer than usual makes up for it being so late for the dead-line I set myself and said I would have it posted. And since the first chapter was really just was an intro and this is where the action actually begins, I really wanted to get this up. 
> 
> Also I did just want to make it clear since some of the people I showed this to were asking: this fic won't take place entirely in Jack's POV, nor is Jack the main character. It was simply a starting point for me. As more happens, and more ROTBTD characters are brought in, it will switch POV depending on the scene and who I decide the story will best benefit from focusing on.
> 
> Also, I have a very good idea of what's going to happen in this story, but I can't say I know where we'll end up or how long it will take to get there, so were both in for an adventure.
> 
> Thank you for reading!! ^^ More coming soon..ish...


	3. Searching for Answers and Coming Up with Snowflakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um...in case you're about as familiar with Viking magical staves (sigils) as Jack is....
> 
> The "first snowflake"  
> http://api.ning.com/files/rdGwDgrRKNjPm7toYIC9j1ekAkMfyF-qsLGGOOdgy9DbXOBkGV3VKtfmRHAqtGgzKGlN5qVo3GsI-2m7Tz--NRBExWLWnoyO/Aegishjalmur.jpg
> 
> The "second snowflake"  
> http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mao9s2RQZ91rejlvoo1_400.jpg
> 
> Don't worry I will give you the names of them in the story if your interested in looking into them more.

Jack, Hiccup, and Astrid stood in the dimness of the fortress. Jack had pulled up his hood; this sudden reality in which everyone could see him suddenly left him feeling oddly…shy. The once confident and outgoing Guardian had had his whole world turned inside out and upside down. It was a very surreal situation, but his only hope was to follow through with this thing to its completion. So he hear he was, trying not to stick out too sorely on Berk.

They stepped forward, passing great wooden pillars, tapestries, and a huge, oval fire pit. Hot coals smoldered within in it, the gentle warmth embracing them with welcome. The scent of fresh smoked meats and mead wafted up to them. They were met by a good number of Vikings, who in turn looked to an ox of a man for answers. They whispered amongst themselves while they waited for him to speak. The three teens pressed through the crowd towards the man and the elder standing next to him.

“What do you think Stoick’ll do about the storm?” One Viking quietly asked another.

“What can he do? It’s a storm! He’s not Thor himself!” His friend replied, flabbergasted with such a ridiculous question.

“But that was no ordinary sandstorm.”

“Aye. Who ever heard of a sandstorm on Berk anyways?” A dark haired Viking joined in on their speculation. “It tore through the forest, and even destroyed crops on the village edge—like a stampede of horses ran straight through them.”

“Do you think the storm was caused by a dragon?” The first Viking asked the others.

“Seems like anything’s possible these days.” The dark haired one responded.

Past the crowd, Stoick and Gothi too were trying to come up with their own sense of what should be done. The man faced the tiny elder, speaking softly to her, so the crowd wouldn’t hear him.

“I’ve never seen a storm like it. I can’t imagine where it came from. I wonder…what could it mean for Berk?” he asked contemplatively. The woman had no answer, she only put her hand to her chin as she thought.

Stoick looked up. He caught sight of his son and two kids trailing him. As they neared, Stoick got a better look, and he eyed the boy following Hiccup. He didn’t know him. He looked to be the son of a farmer, what, with the Sheppard’s crook and all. But instinct and experience told Stoick that there was more than meets the eye with him.

“Dad. We need to talk to you.” Hiccup said.

“Son. Do you know something about…all this?”

Hiccup tilted his head towards the floor and scratched behind his ear. “Ah, yeah. You could say that.” He paused. “Or you could say that we got the _lovely_ pleasure of experiencing the storm first hand.” He looked up and shrugged as if this sort of thing happened daily.

“Tell me, what happened.” A glimmer of concern showed itself in Stoick’s softened voice.

“Well, we were flying back after checking up on old One-Eye like you asked aaand, it, just, sprung up from the forest, out of nowhere, and swallowed us. There was no time for us to avoid the storm, so we tried to land; find cover and wait it out.

“Thaaat’s when I saw a flash of light to my left. Now, you might think this is kind of crazy, but I saw what looked like someone fighting some sort of strange, grotesque wolf-creature. Unfortunately, the winds were too strong and a gale threw me and Toothless. We rolled in the air, I got knocked off, and next thing I know, we were separated. I heard Toothless roar and followed that to him…and to Jack.” Hiccup gestured to the boy, who seemed a bit distracted by the tapestries on the left wall.

The ancient hangings told legends of Viking heroes long cherished by their tribe. Jack’s eye was caught on the tale of Amundi the Archer, though he clearly didn’t really understand what was going on in it.

“He says he’s, uh, encountered this before and knows what to do about it.” Hiccup said looking from Jack back to Stoik. Stoick nodded but said nothing.

Gothi had not taken her eyes off Jack since the moment the children entered the Hall. Her crazy stare fixated on the boy. There was something familiar about his presence, and yet, what it was, she could not put her finger on. Despite any peculiarities of his appearance, her wild gaze kept returning to the odd staff he carried with him. Where had she seen a Shepard’s crook that had such a particular shape to it as that one did?

“There are monsters that come with the storms.” Hiccup told Stoick, “And a man named Pitch controls those monsters. Jack says he needs to get home so he can find out what this Pitch guy is planning. Jack’s kind of a…a warrior where he comes from. And he doesn’t exactly have the best record with Pitch.”

Jack had finally looked over at the mention of the Boogeyman.

“Alright then, we’ll ready a small fleet of riders to guide him home.” Stoick said understandingly.

“That’s the thing…” Jack said. “I don’t know how to get home from Berk. Heck, I had never even heard of Berk before today. So I can’t exactly lead you there, and I don’t even know how far away ‘there’ is!” He swung his free arm to emphasize the ‘there’ in question.

“Dad, have you ever herd of a place called Burgess?” Hiccup asked.

“Can’t say I have.”

Stoick went quiet as he thought. He looked out at the crowd of Vikings. And after a moment of thought, he felt a tug at his side. It was Gothi. She wrote into the dirt of the ground with her staff to tell him something. Stoick looked over the symbols that so few could understand and his eyes lit up.

“You think _that_ is what this is all about?” He asked surprised.

She nodded with a grin, and added to her script in the dirt. Then pointed to Jack…well his staff, at least.

“I see.” Stoick looked to the kids. “Gothi thinks there might be a reason for your appearance on Berk, Jack. It seems there might be something here for you after all. And if Pitch is you enemy, it might be what lured him here as well.”

Both boys looked at each other, then looked up at Stoick with astonishment. An image of the blue flames flitted into jack’s mind and he very vaguely wondered what the connection was.

“I would like to dismiss everyone so that we may talk.” Stoick told them.

 _Oh Thor. This must be serious._ Hiccup thought.

Stoick faced the crowd finally. He looked over the many familiar faces of his people with all the intimidating presence of a mighty lion. When he spoke, he spoke with confidence. Confidence that was met with respect.

“Everyone,” his voice boomed, “I know you are all eager to understand what exactly this means for Berk. What we face with these storms. How we should respond in the time of their advent. What I _can_ tell you is that preparations are in order for the answers we seek. And at high noon I will have those answers. Until then, go back. Continue with your day as if all were normal, for there is no immediate threat.

“Nevertheless…be vigil…for this might not be the end. There may yet be another storm. Should that be true, an enemy—one Berk is not familiar with—may take that storm into advantage to attack our peaceable village.”

Then he added to his speech for the spirits of his people. “We are Vikings, the greatest warriors to sail these seas. We’ve learned to endure the harshest of conditions, we move forward in the most of unsure of times, and we best our enemies when all seems lost. And we will face this day, and any threats that come from it, with courage, and glory. And if any horrors befall us, we take up our arms and fight like Thor almighty. Even if it may earn us a seat at the tables of Valhalla, we will fight.”

If there actually were any doubts or fears that may have been present in the hearts of his warriors, they were gone now. They let out a powerful war cry, raising their fists in the air to emphasize their reverence and even excitement at the possibility of battle. And Jack was pretty sure he heard a number of them say “DEATH OR GLORY!”

He had definitely stepped into a different world. One that feared cowardice and disgrace more than death itself.

* * *

 The hall had emptied. Now all who stood in it was Stoick and the three teenagers. Even Gothi had gone back to her hut for reasons of her own.

Stoick looked to the doorway. “I cannot stay for long,” he began, “so I will tell you what you need to know.” He paused before bringing his attention back to the kids. He set his jaw for a moment and breathed through his nose while he prepared for what he had to say.

“When Vikings die, we send them to their graves with every possession of they have that could aid them in the next life. But sometimes, they leave behind things to aid us in this one instead. What I say now is more legend than fact. Few know the tale. Of those few, not many actually believe a word of it. But Gothi seems to think there is some truth to this tale.”

There was another pause.

“Some many years ago, a long-ago Chieftain of the Hooligan Tribe was not yet a man but no longer a boy, either. He was a Viking; a great Viking! Adventurous, strong, cunning, and quite good at handling dragons too. Keep in mind, those were still the days when many Vikings and dragons slaughtered each other on the spot, red with rage. But one day a wandering wizard showed up on the shores of the boy’s home. This was before our tribe had settled on Berk.

“He happened upon the young chief just as the boy had been attacked by a dragon. Together they chased off the creature, and it is said, the wizard befriended the boy. Many people admired this wizard and he was welcomed as an honored guest of the tribe. And yet, being that he was a wanderer, the wizard kindly refused any offer to stay, explaining that he had friends waiting for his return. But, before he departed, the wizard left some sort of _relic_ with the chief and asked that the brave leaders of the Hooligan Tribe protect it, keeping it hidden from dark forces. He gave his farewells and told the chief _‘eventually the day will come when fate will summon a guardian, who will retrieve this item, and use it during a collapse of fear.’_ And with that, the wizard was gone, just as mysteriously as he had arrived.”

“That has to be it!” Jack exclaimed. “I’m a Guardian! It’s what we call ourselves. And I was definitely brought here.” He pointed to the ground in a moment of excitement. He paused and looked down at his staff which he then gripped in both palms. Turning more serious, Jack looked back up to Stoick. “If I have to retrieve this thing, it must be to stop Pitch. ‘Fear’ is kind of his signature.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Stoick said softly.

“So… _what is_ this relic-thingy?”

“I cannot say. Not even Gothi knows. That forgotten ancestor never revealed what the item was. On the day of his death, he passed on the knowledge of where the relic was stored to his most trusted decedents. The only person who knows is that wizard, and no one has seen nor heard from him since. However, from the way the sagas spoke of it, a sort of knowledge comes to whosoever possesses it.”

Jack seemed to mull over that for a little bit. “Ok, well, I’ll do it.” He said valiantly.

“Good. Now, I need to know everything about this Pitch fellow. How he fights, his weaknesses, anything.”

“How does hungry for world domination sound?” Jack grimaced, “Has a thing for darkness and exploiting weaknesses. Also has an army of monsters at his disposal. Oh, and, he’s not likely to attack until nightfall; ’prefers sneaking around in the dark. ’Something to do with the whole ooky-spooky Bad Guy persona.”

“Then we have time.” Hiccup said.

“Yep. And I’d bet I’m Pitch’s only target real, so if I leave, he’ll follow.”

Stoick nodded, “But until we can figure out how to guide you to the other Guardians, we should expect to be targeted too. We will not force you to fight this battle alone, Jack. I will make sure my warriors are prepared in case of such an encounter.”

Jack smiled just a little at that.

Stoick then pulled Hiccup aside so he could hand him a key and tell him where to use it.He put his hands on Hiccup’s shoulders, and they shared a look before going their separate ways. Stoick left the hall without another word.

Hiccup lead them to the back of the hall, passing a platform with a great wooden chair upon it. They stopped at a carved, wooden door which had stone pillars supporting it on both sides. The door was easy to miss in the dim hall if you didn’t know to look for it.

Hiccup produced the key Stoick had given him to unlock the door. He then leaned into his weight as he struggled to pull it open. Astrid and Jack joined in, but even with their help, the door was barely willing to move. But they managed to get it open. It turned out to be made of stone and metal on the other side, revealing the pillars to actually be the door’s hinges.

”Man, what’s with this thing?” Jack asked.

“It was built to withstand even the strongest dragon attacks.” Hiccup answered. “Apparently the things kept here are pretty important. There are things that go back to the founding of Berk itself. Even much, much earlier actually.”

The door lead to a passage which sloped further down into the earth. Hiccup grabbed a torch and they began down without hesitation. After a while Jack let his free palm ride the rocky surface of the walls themselves as they descended.

“I never even knew this place existed.” Astrid said.

“Yeah, me either” Hiccup responded.

The longer they walked, the clearer it was that this was not a straight or simple path. Occasionally they had to climb up slopes of the cave, even though they were clearly still descending further into the mountain. It appeared to be a natural cavern that had in some places been carved out just enough for a man to squeeze through.

The deeper they went the mustier it got. The air was cool and clung in the mouth, as air in all caverns did when they haven’t been opened to the outside world in a long, long time. The hairs on their forearms stood up, even Jack’s. Hiccup didn’t know if he wanted to try to ignore the press of ancient atmosphere, or not.

Once or twice they had thought they came to a dead end, only to realize that the path was actually making a steep and sharp turn, or that it was partially blocked by a bolder and stalactites.

During one part of the path, they had to cross a small, underground stream. Jack was cautious not to freeze the water as he crossed. Hiccup slipped as the cave was hard enough to shuffle down when it wasn’t wet. Jack just barely caught him by the arm before he could fall completely.

“Thanks.” Hiccup smiled sheepishly.

“No problem. Besides you’re our torch bearer, we don’t wanna get stuck down here without any light.” He helped Hiccup right himself.

Hiccup noticed something.

“Wow, Jack, you’re as cold as ice…are you okay?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I’m fine...I’m usually like that.”

“You sure? You don’t even have shoes. How are you not freezing?”

“I’m…used to the cold.” Jack said as convincingly as he could. It was true. Sort of. “I’ll warm up once we head back up.” He lied, he didn't know why. It's just that something it the back of Jacks mind told him that now was not the right time to reveal any more about himself.

“Anyways, they sure do have a thing for dramatic flair, here on Berk, don’t they? Dragons, secret passageways, lost artifacts, legendary heroes. At least you’re not boring.” Jack commented trying to change the subject.

Hiccup and Astrid caught what he was doing, but didn’t pursue it. Instead they played along for the time being and continued to make conversation as they continued down. It had to have been at least half an hour since they started down the cavern.

By the time the passage leveled out, Astrid and Hiccup were pretty deep into their own conversation. Jack was beginning to wonder if they had forgotten his unusual aptitude for cold.

They followed a passage that curved slowly to the right and they finally approached an opening to an antechamber. As they entered, Hiccup found fixtures around the room in which to give them some light. The room was about 3 times longer than it was wide, with two sets of three ancient support beams going down the length of the room. It had books, relics, barrels, and chests of all kinds held in reserve. Shelves and tables were responsible for the task of caring for some of the muddle. A handful of rows of selves were placed in the room. It was apparently some kind of ancient library. Hiccup felt fond for the place already.

Jack stood over a dented helmet sitting beside a pile of leather bound books which were placed atop a blood stained table. He was looking at the designs on the books. Some were of dragons or Vikings, others were symbols, or designs similar to knot work. He began walking past a shelf, looking at the items on it.

“Alright.” He heard Hiccup say from behind him, “Let’s see what we have here.”

“Do we have any idea what exactly we’re looking for?” Astrid asked.

Hiccup pressed his lips into a thin line for a short moment. “My dad a certain kind of knowledge comes with it, right? Maybe it’s a book of some kind?”

“Well there certainly are plenty of those…” Jack said distractedly.

“Then let’s get to it.” Hiccup stated.

Jack turned to watch Hiccup. The Viking teen started by walking up to a shelf and pulled out three large books and another smaller one that looked as old as the island itself. Astrid started looking at the things on a shelf next to her too. Through their search, they had discovered a collection of maps, which gave Hiccup an idea.

“Maybe there’s even some information on how you can get back from here.” He said. “A wizard likely won’t use conventional forms of transportation very often. So maybe there’s some kind of clue here.”

Hiccup grabbed some books that he had skimmed over earlier. He set them in the middle of the room. Then he walked over to the opposite side of the room where the maps they found were being stored. It was a thin but sturdy case that stood against the wall. Hiccup lifted the top of it, reviling a number of scrolls. He’d lift them, look at the writing on the edge, then decide whether he would pull it out or not. When he was done sorting through all the scrolls he brought them over to the middle as well and placed them beside the books.

“Okay those books are from the original settlement of Berk, and these are maps of the Isle, surrounding territories, and well, miscellaneous.” Hiccup informed. “With these we’ve got a good chance of figuring out if there is anything you’d be familiar with, Jack. We’ll start with this and see where that gets us.”

Jack picked up the small book as it was the closest thing to him, but soon replaced it when he realized it was written in symbols he didn’t recognize. Hiccup and Astrid looked to him with anticipation. But they saw by the expression on Jack’s face that he couldn’t read it.

“Oh! Uh, here.” Hiccup pulled open a couple of the scrolls on the floor. “Do you recognize anything from these?”

Jack looked over the old parchments for some time, but to no avail. He didn’t even really have a good idea at what he was looking at. All the labels where in that same strange writing. There were some scribbles of dragons, mountains, rivers, and points that were probably villages, but nothing identifiable.

“Nope.” He said with a sigh. “And believe me I’m used to seeing things from above like that. I think I’d be able to distinguish something.”

“Well, we’ll just have to keep looking.” Astrid said trying to keep them positive. “Hiccup and I can look for anything that might seem promising in these books and you can look through the rest of these maps and see if there’s anything you think you might know.”

“Okay.” Jack said unconvinced.

And they did this for what felt like a very long time to Jack, even if he knew maybe only twenty minutes or so had actually passed. He was restless. He needed to find something; directions, a hint, a clue, an inkling. Something to tell him what to do. He needed to find that relic. He needed to find a way home. He needed to find out what this was all about, and what Pitch was up to. And not finding anything just kind of strung a knot at the pit of his stomach.

He ran out of things to consider with the maps, to the point that he had them nearly memorized. He got very bored very fast.

He looked over to the other two. They were still very much lost in the books. Astrid paced around a small part of the room as she skimmed through books. Hiccup had found a side table that was relatively open and was hunched over his reading material, possibly making notes of something, but Jack couldn’t really tell from his point of view. They had worked through three of the first books already and even pulled over a couple more.

Then Jack looked around the room. His interest was once again taken to the artifacts held there. He figured a break couldn’t hurt, so he stood up from where he had been sitting and walked around the room with his staff on his shoulder.

A few valuables like jewelry glittered dully in the available light. There were a handful of drinking horns lying about that had varying carvings all over them. Sometimes a helmet or a broken sword that apparently belonged to someone important, was placed in front of a pile of owner’s positions of books and scrolls. But most books had no apparent owners, so they sat alone on their selves and chests.

Jack neared the end of the room. His eyes caught on something he saw but didn’t really pay attention to before: a faded shield with claw marks gouged into it hanging on the back wall. On each side of it was a matching set of ornate battle axes. Directly under the shield sat a stone pedestal with a dark object placed upon it. Some kind of hexagonal prism. Jack inched closer. He couldn’t make out what it was made of. It looked odd, like it didn’t belong. It mesmerized Jack.

It turned out to be a little box big enough to be held with one hand. It seemed to be made of what Jack assumed to be a type of stone that mimicked aged wood. Symbols different to the strange Viking scrawl danced along the sides of the box. Though the emblem that was carved on the lid of the box was what caught Jacks interest. It looked like a snowflake.

Jack pursed his lips and reached out. With the lightest touch, the tips of his fingers brushed the edge of the box. Without warning the box reacted to his touch in very much the same way his staff always did. Ice shot up the ruts of the carvings, frost layered the surfaces of the box, and the snowflake emblem itself, glowed.

He made no noise when he jumped back, heart thundering in his ears, his eyes wide and eyebrows raised. A sound like that of a mechanism clicked. Then there was a sound like a cracking glacier and Jack watched another symbol revel itself on the front side of the box, burning through like pure starlight. The frost dissipated almost instantly. When the brightness faded, the new symbol also looked like a snowflake, but different; way more ornate than the first one.

He allowed himself two full gulps of air before edging forward again and passing his fingers back over it. This time the box didn’t respond.

“Hiccup.” Jack called. He didn’t move. He wouldn’t take his eyes from the box. “I think I found it.”

Hiccup looked up and over to Jack. Hiccup moved up to the obvious shrine. “Huh. How did I miss that?” he said more to himself than anyone else.

The painted shield was a portrait of a man. One that he had never seen any other sign of on the island. He had a long white beard, a robe, and a wizard’s cap. He also carried a staff that had the gnarled look of a tree branch which curved like a moon crescent at the top; not very different from Jack’s own gnarled crook of a staff.

_Huh, so that was how Gothi had made the connection._

Hiccup looked at the bottom of the shield. There was writing on it, but the claws that had scrapped into the wood made it impossible to read the full thing. He could only read the runic letters as “OMBR”, which didn’t make much sense to him. He almost half-wondered if it wasn’t some sort of anagram.

“I could have sworn there was nothing here a minute ago.” Astrid said standing next to them. And maybe she was on to something, the room _did_ feel longer than before.

Hiccup noticed that Jack had picked up the object that had been on the pedestal.

“Wonder what it is.” Jack said as he turned it over in his palm. He couldn’t apparently help himself from tracing his fingers over each and every carved image.

“Wait! Go back.” Hiccup said.

“What?” Jack asked perplexed.

“That symbol. I know it.” Hiccup said pointing to the more complicated of the two snowflakes. “And that one too.” He said looking at the original snowflake.

“Okay, so what about them? Do they mean something?” Jack asked looking at Hiccup.

“Actually they do.” Hiccup pointed to the first snowflake. “This one is called the Ægishjálmur. It’s a magical sigil. A pretty common one actually. But…it’s strange that it would be carved into this thing.” His brow knotted itself. “It is supposed to be worn or painted over the forehead of warriors. Like on their helmets or something. For protection in battle and inflicting fear on your enemies.”

Jack chewed his lip and looked at the thing with raised eyebrows.

“This one though,” Hiccup continued pointing to the ornate snowflake. “I’m not so familiar with…but…I _know_ I’ve seen it before…”

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair as he racked his brain for the memory of that second symbol. It’s not like he had ever picked up runic magic as a hobby.

“Well anyways, now that we’ve got it, shouldn’t we talk to your father about it?” Astrid asked.

“I guess so.” Hiccup shrugged. He just kind of figured there might be something with more information on the whole thing, but from what he could see, the shield and the box was all there was to it. Overall it was more disappointing than he’d like to admit. Hiccup couldn’t help but wonder if it was worth it.

Upon returning everything to its place Hiccup thought twice about it, and grabbed some books that had caught his interest before following the others back up the passageway.

On their way back, they noticed a peculiar occurrence in which one of the walls of the tunnel was completely frosted over. This was particularly strange since they were only ten days into Gormánuðr on the Norse calendar. It wasn’t even all that cold yet. Hiccup figured that there could have been moister from the ground seeping through to the cave walls, but that didn’t explain why one particular wall decided to frosted itself over upon their return.

It took them another half hour to travel all the way back up the passage. When they emerged they found the Hall was still empty. Good. They closed and sealed the door, and headed out to find Stoick.

What the group of three didn’t know, was that just as they were closing that heavyweight entrance, a shadow sifted out of place. While the trio was still distracted with a door that was slow and stubborn to move, an evil silhouette slipped into the passage way via the top corner of the doorway. It was the absolute opportune moment, no one could notice. All light from the Great Hall finally cut off and the lock turned over. Everything was silent. Pitch Black emerged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again kind readers! 
> 
> Now that school, finals, and comic con are out of the way, I finally had a chance to write. Woo! 
> 
> Um, we're still kind of in set up, so, sorry that not much really happens in this chapter, but I hope you liked it anyways. It only really exists to bring us 'the relic', but I promise things will start picking up and next chapter will be much more interesting (and likely way shorter). 
> 
> The next two chapters are lined up, they just need to be written. 
> 
> Comments and critique are welcome! Thank you for reading! ^^


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